Part 21 (1/2)

”Sad,” Dana said. There seemed only one thing left to ask. ”Do you know where he is now?”

”No, but the Alumni Directory will.”

Dana gave a self-deprecating laugh. ”Of course. That's how I got your number. It's even online.”

”No need to look online. I have last year's edition right here. Hold on, please.”

Dana left the baby's side, but only to get pen and paper. Minutes later, she had a name, address, and phone number. The question was what to do with them.

Chapter 17.

Friday morning, thanks to the persistence of his detective, Hugh was able to move against the senator. He called Crystal first. She answered her cell phone from Jay's bedside. As pleased as she sounded with his news, she was cautious.

”How do you contact him?” she asked.

”I'll overnight a letter marked 'Personal and Confidential,' which means his chief of staff will open it. I'll say that I'm representing Crystal Kostas in connection with the paternity of her son, and that before I initiate legal proceedings, I would like the senator's lawyer to contact me.”

”You think someone will actually call you back?”

”I do. They'll recognize my name and know they're not dealing with an ambulance chaser.”

”Is one other witness all I need?”

”It's a solid start. That's two of you independently confirming an intimate detail about the senator.”

”Was she with him for long? Did she get pregnant, too?”

”No, she didn't get pregnant, and she was only with him once. She never even called his office, which means she doesn't have an ax to grind.”

”How did your detective find her?”

”She's a well-known actress.”

”Were there pictures of them together?”

”Not published,” Hugh said with satisfaction, ”but Lakey has a source at the tabloids who showed him unpublished ones. That's the thing about being a public figure. She's an actress; it didn't bother her to be photographed with a married senator. It's the married senator who should have been more careful. Of course, it suits our purposes just fine.”

”So now won't someone from his office try to buy her off?”

”I'll have a signed affidavit before they can do that. In the meanwhile, my detective is still looking for some of the senator's other women. The more we have, the faster he'll cave.”

Hugh knew that the moment he posted the letter the clock was ticking. If he didn't hear from the lawyer by midweek, he would file preliminary papers with the court for a determination of paternity. Crystal didn't want public proceedings. But they had to get the senator's attention.

What Hugh didn't tell Crystal was that three other prominent women whom Lakey approached had refused to talk. One had shaken her head and quickly closed the door. A second had said, ”I'm not allowed to talk with you.” The third simply said, ”I can't.” Either the senator had bought their silence, or they feared his retribution in ways that the actress was successful enough not to.

Crystal Kostas wasn't successful, which meant that there would be no quid pro quo. To the senator, she was a n.o.body. But she wasn't a n.o.body to her son. She was all he had.

With an intimate knowledge of the Hutchinson power and wealth, Hugh was gunnin' for bear.

Dana spent much of Friday at the shop. This was where, surrounded by friends, she felt most secure. It was also where Lizzie was loved by enough people so that Dana could leave her asleep in the cradle, while she spent time with her grandmother.

Ellie Jo didn't look well. She was finally able to put weight on her walking cast, but she remained pale and unsteady, growing older right before Dana's eyes. Worse, she didn't welcome concern. Dana knew to tend to her without making a fuss. By Friday afternoon, though, Ellie Jo seemed increasingly cross.

”Is something bothering you?” Dana asked. They were at the small round table in Ellie Jo's kitchen, white plates resting on orange placemats that had been felted by Ellie Jo's friend Joan. Dana's plate was clean. Though her body continued to slim down, her appet.i.te was voracious. Conversely, Ellie Jo had barely touched her food.

”I don't like this cast,” she complained. ”It slows me down.”

”Is there something else? You're way too pale.”

”That's what happens when you get old.”

”All of a sudden? Like in one week?”

”Yes, in one week after something like this,” Ellie Jo said, waving a none-too-steady hand at her foot, which rested on a chair. Veronica sat snug against the cast, less interested in the food on Ellie Jo's plate than on the cranky look on her mistress's face.

”When was the last time you had a checkup?” Dana asked.

Ellie Jo looked her in the eye. ”Six months ago.”

”And everything was fine?”

”Everything was fine. Give me credit, Dana. I may be old, but I'm not ready to go. I worry about you, and I worry about Lizzie. If my Earl was here, he'd be taking Lizzie out for walks and showing her off in town. He would be such a help. He was a good man, Dana. You can be proud of the kind of person he was.”

Dana was proud of Earl. The man she really wanted to discuss was her father, but the last time she had mentioned the man, Ellie Jo had stormed off and fallen on the attic stairs.

So she left without saying a word. As she drove home, she remembered what her mother had whispered to her the night before. Tell Hugh what you learned. But she couldn't tell Hugh. She just couldn't-which made her feel terrible-which was one of the reasons why, when she spotted David and Ali playing basketball in the driveway, she picked up Lizzie and headed their way.

David was a friend. Dana needed a friend.

Smiling, she watched him swoop Ali up so that she could dunk the ball in the basket. The instant the little girl's feet hit the ground, she ran over and threw her arms around Dana's waist. She didn't say anything, just held on, grinning broadly.

David wiped his face with the hem of his tee s.h.i.+rt, but it wasn't until Dana gestured him over that he joined them. ”How's it going?” he asked.

”Not bad,” Dana replied as Ali broke away. ”Lizzie went for two four-hour stretches last night.”

He smiled at the baby, who was gazing lazily at nothing in particular.

”Dana, watch this!” Ali cried, and demonstrated her dribble.

”Good girl,” Dana called.

”I can teach Lizzie how to do this when she's big enough,” Ali called back. When Dana turned Lizzie to face the driveway, Ali shouted, ”Look, Lizzie. Watch me dribble.”

The demonstration was barely done when David touched Ali's head. ”Pumpkin, run in and get a couple of waters from the fridge?”

Heaving the basketball into the yard, Ali set off in an exaggerated run.